Captain America: Brave New World – a Marvel Disappointment?

(Contains spoilers)

As one of the most anticipated films of the year so far, Captain America: Brave New World, was set to be a box office hit and a fan-favourite, with it being the first Captain America solo film to be released in nearly a decade.

In the opening weekend of release, reception of the film has been somewhat mixed, with some saying that ‘the story had a lot of potential’ while others state that it is ‘just not good enough’.

Source: boxofficemojo.com/franchise/fr541495045/

The box office for the opening weekend generated $88.5 million, a fraction of the amount generated by other MCU superhero solo hits, such as Black Panther ($202 million), and the previous solo Captain America film Captain America: Civil War ($179 million), ranking it 24^th in the MCU’s all-time box-office collections for the 3-day opening weekend.

So where did it go wrong?

Avengers: Endgame saw the end of many staples in the MCU, from Natasha Romanoff (Scarlet Johansson) to Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), but most importantly Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), with the latter passing his shield to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and along with it, the title of Captain America.

The following few years in the MCU saw the introduction and exploration of various new concepts, setting the stage for the universe’s future. This includes introducing other superheroes that co-exist alongside the Avengers and even out-date them, such as The Eternals and Shang-Chi, but most importantly, it delves deeper into the idea of the Multiverse in films such as Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness, and TV Shows such as WandaVision and Loki, emphasising on its details. As this vast universe unfolded, we saw the development of the remaining few of the Avengers from Endgame – most significantly Sam Wilson with his newfound responsibility.

In The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Wilson is seen struggling between choosing to do what he believes is right, and following orders that may not necessarily be the correct approach. We see this in the constant disagreements between him and Bucky, and the then-Captain America, John Walker (Wyatt Russell). As the episodes progress, he begins to take a more active role in his belief of upholding the legacy of Steve Rogers and trying to be more like him, ultimately accepting the responsibility of being Captain America. However, throughout the series, his sense of responsibility is constantly shadowed by self-doubt; What if Steve was wrong?

This is a concept we see carried into Wilson’s first solo film Captain America: Brave New World.

In the beginning, he is a jovial man who goes about his daily business of protecting people and maintaining peace, and he shows that he is willing to do this no matter the cost. However, this is soon threatened with the attempted assassination of President Ross (Harrison Ford, formerly the late William Hurt) by one of his closest friends and mentor Isiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), a super-soldier and former Captain America. Knowing that his friend is not capable of plotting such a crime, Wilson embarks on an investigation to find the truth. He discovers that Ross’ dark past is haunting him and causing chaos worldwide – a person known as Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), who was previously exploited by Ross. Wilson sets out on a mission to arrest Stern, as well as Ross upon the discovery that he is the Red Hulk and that Sterns is the cause of this. We see few fight scenes scattered throughout the story, until finally, the culprit is brought in. The film ends with a post-credits scene focussing on Sterns’ warning of the other ‘worlds’ that will come to attack them, introducing the Multiverse and the lead up to Avengers: Doomsday.

Seems like a decent story, so why is it not as big a hit amongst fans as expected?

Simply put, it is repetitive.

The story of ‘the hero’s friend is seen as a criminal, and he will do anything in his power to prove them innocent and find the culprit’ is something we have seen in the film industry (including the MCU) an awful lot. To add to this, the plot was very predictable, missing the unexpected plot twists that most MCU hits have. Ross being the Red Hulk was expected from the trailer, and Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) suffering from severe injuries was clearly predictable from the amount of times he was told ‘don’t die’ by Wilson throughout the film. As Anthony Mackie’s first solo film in the MCU (and such a crucial role), we had hoped to see more character development when compared to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but this seems to be somewhat insufficient.

It seems to lack a story that grips the MCU audiences. Yes, there are a couple of fan favourite characters that make cameo appearances, such as Bucky, but that is simply not enough for films as significant as this.

More than anything, it seems to be a ‘buffer’ film, acting as a means to introduce Avengers: Doomsday rather than focussing on Captain America – the whole film was leading to the post-credits scene. Instead of Sam Wilson being the main point of focus, the post-credits scene stole the limelight from Anthony Mackie. Was there really a need to introduce a film set to be released next year so early? Perhaps it could have been done in other upcoming Marvel films or TV Shows. Due to this, the film seems too rushed and anticlimactic.

Overall, Captain America: Brave New World is a decent film, but it lacks the ‘MCU touch’ to it. Despite the brilliant work by the actors, the lack of a good enough story has ultimately impacted its success amongst fans, which may reflect in future worldwide box office collections.